The line graph illustrates the amount of goods conveyed using four different ways (road, water, rail and pipeline) from 1974 to 2002. Units are measured in million tonnes.
Overall, transporting goods by road was the most popular method over the entire period, as opposed to pipeline being the least used. Water and rail initially transported the same amount of goods, however, over time water exceeded rail to become the second most used method by 2002.
In 1974, approximately 70 million tonnes of goods were transported via road. This figure, despite some minor fluctuations, rose to a high of just below 100 million tonnes by the end of the period. Goods carried using pipelines on the other hand were significantly less, recording under 5 million tonnes in 1974. Although this amount increased slightly, it still remained at the bottom of the graph over the 28-year period to finish at just above 20 million tonnes.
The amount of goods carried by water and rail was nearly around 40 million tonnes between 1974 and 1978. Rail then exhibited a decline in usage followed by some fluctuations to end at almost 40 million tonnes in 2002. As for water, it slightly rose to just below 60 million and plateaued at this number for several years before dipping then rising to finish at just above 60 million tonnes by 2002.